The GREATEST Risk Is Not Taking ONE.

“The Greatest Risk Is Not Taking One” – American International Group (AIG)

Over the weekend I celebrated the 2nd birthday of The Art of Lax™. The celebration did not have a cake with candles or party favors, and such, rather it consisted with a lot of reflection accompanied with a smile or 10. :o)

In the Fall season of 2008, The Art of Lax™ was being built and slowly taking shape – 25 drawings, 5 paintings and a lot of sleepless nights “working and wondering” into the unknown.

“He who would accomplish little must sacrifice little; he who would achieve much must sacrifice much; he who would attain highly must sacrifice greatly.”– James Allen (author, “From Poverty to Power”)

On Dec. 18th 2008, I took those images and created the Facebook Group Page – “The Art of Lax™ – by Vincent Ricasio“. Crossing the line and pushing the boundaries, I “invited” as many friends (mostly lacrosse related) on the group page, hoping that they might ‘spread the word’. After that, it was back to a state of “wonder”.

The next day, Dec. 19th 2008, I received an email at exactly 10:04 a.m. requesting a specific reproduction print for a last minute Christmas present. I did not have a website up, nor any way to take orders and make online transactions, but I didn’t care (at the moment) because I was excited to get a response within 24 hours from launching [it] to the public. I printed and framed that customer’s email and it hangs next to my computer at home, where I stare at it to this day as a positive reminder.

(My first business/promo card)

I opened this post with a quote from an old AIG commercial in the late-90’s or early-2000’s that is a favorite of mine. It combines footage of the “Space Race” along with a narration of lines from T.S. Elliot’s poem: “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock”. It is a lesson and reminder that being scared is a realistic behavior when stepping into the “unknown”. But The Art of Lax™ and entrepreneurship has taught me just that – risk, push, learn and REPEAT.